The puppet theater is exemplary when the clock plays. Fabulous clock of the puppet theater of Sergei Obrazlov

I would not like to visit again this interesting world for children, and for adults too - the Central Puppet Theater named after Sergei Obraztsov. And the unusual musical clock on the facade of the building is rightfully considered the theater’s calling card. This street clock provides a unique opportunity to return to the world of carefree childhood and undoubtedly attracts the attention of passers-by. At the time of its creation, the musical and theatrical clock had no analogues in the entire country.

A clock appeared on the facade of the puppet theater building in 1970, along with the opening of the theater on the Garden Ring. This building was designed and built specifically for the theater. During the construction of the theater, all the existing innovations of that time were taken into account - in the equipment of the theater stage, light and sound, but the facade of the building itself was an unattractive gray concrete wall, which was typical of the style of buildings of that time. However, the director of the theater decided to enliven the appearance of the theater with an unusual, huge clock.

Sergei Obraztsov and his theater traveled a lot around the world. And he was always attracted to medieval craftsmen, who, as a rule, were exquisitely decorated and often had mechanisms with moving figures that put on a show and attracted attention. Such clocks were hung in places of public gatherings, decorating important buildings of the city and city squares, being an indicator of the prestige of the city. Inspired by what he saw, Obraztsov came up with the idea of creating a puppet clock with figurines - fairy-tale characters and decorating with them the gray facade of the new building of the puppet theater.

The clock is a round dial around which houses of fairy-tale characters are scattered chaotically. There are twelve houses, and therefore fictional residents. So, 30 seconds before the hour the rooster crows, turning to the assembled spectators, he crows loudly and flaps his wings. At this moment, the clock hand points to the house, the doors of which open and a figurine is shown. All these actions take place to the tune of a melody familiar to everyone from childhood, arranged by N. Bogoslavsky, “Whether in the garden or in the city.” So, in turn, corresponding to each hour, all the heroes are shown one after another. At noon and midnight, twice a day, all the fairy-tale characters appear together, and the viewer can see the inhabitants of the entire village.

The authors of the watch are sculptors Dmitry Shakhovsky and Pavel Shimes, and the mechanism was invented by Veniamin Kalmanson. A lot of money was spent on making the watch. The dimensions of the unusual clock are 3 meters wide and 4 meters high. The watch itself is made of copper, stainless steel, brass and textolite. The clock rays, patterns and flagpole are covered with gold leaf. All fairy-tale characters are made of fiberglass. More than 50 people painstakingly worked on the production of doll “walkers”, among them mechanics, metalsmiths, minters and goldsmiths.

Initially, the clock had an electromechanical device that occupied a specially designated room. Specially trained watchmakers monitored the uninterrupted operation of the clocks. Their work included servicing the clock and timely turning on the tape recording of voices corresponding to fairy-tale characters. At noon and midnight, the room in which the clock mechanism was located was filled with the creaking and hum of working units, and silence followed when all the characters emerged from their houses.

Obraztsov's doll clocks were distinguished by their accuracy and passers-by checked their wristwatches by them, considering them the most accurate after the Kremlin chimes.

Now the watch has a different mechanism and its accuracy is not great due to the lack of funds for its maintenance. The voice of the crowing rooster became quieter and muffled, although the previously ringing cuckoo kept the residents of nearby houses awake. Due to this, these watches had 2 modes, day and night, the sound of which was much quieter than during the day.

Today, like 40 years ago, the hours of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater gather around a large number of spectators, both adults and children, who eagerly await 12 o'clock and the appearance of all the fairy-tale characters. This miniature performance, performed by puppet clocks of the last century, delights and makes children growing up in the era of high technology come again and again.

On Friday evening, let's relax a little after everyday work and get acquainted with one more Moscow beauty. Namely, let's go to the theater with the most unusual clock in the capital.

The extraordinary puppet theater created by Sergei Vladimirovich Obraztsov is one of the attractions of the city of Moscow. Not only do exciting performances take place here, but there is also a specialized library, a museum of theatrical puppets and a clock with animals that decorate the façade of the building.

The metal clock of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater has become a kind of calling card of this place. They have their own, albeit small, but interesting story. The appearance of the clock on the facade of the theater building, located on Garden Square, is associated with its opening in 1970. The construction of the new building was carried out in compliance with all requirements regarding stage equipment, lighting equipment and sound equipment.

But for some reason the architects forgot about one important detail. They didn’t think about the facade of the building, but the theater begins with the facade. Built of gray concrete, the building did not look entirely cheerful.

And then the head of the theater, and he was Sergei Obraztsov, decided to correct the situation. He proposed placing an unusual clock on the wall of the building, which would decorate the facade.

For many years, touring the world with the Puppet Theater, Sergei Obraztsov was interested in clocks, mainly tower ones, which he saw in different cities. It was they who proposed the concept, which the sculptors Dmitry Shakhovsky and Pavel Shimes undertook to implement. The creation of the clock mechanism was undertaken by Veniamin Kalmanson.

The height of the clock on the wall of the puppet theater is 4 meters, and the length is 3 meters. This is a kind of unusual ensemble consisting of twelve houses that correspond to certain hours, and puppet characters from famous fairy tales “live” in each of them.

Every hour the door of the corresponding house opens, and a figurine of one or another puppet hero appears, the cry of a rooster is heard and the sound of the familiar melody of the song “In the garden, in the vegetable garden...” from childhood. And twice a day you can see all the fairy tale characters on the clock at once. This happens at noon and also at midnight.

There is a legend about the clock of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater and its characters, which is known to everyone who is not indifferent to strong alcoholic drinks. During the Soviet Union, you could buy alcohol in a store only from eleven o'clock in the afternoon. So, drinkers gathered at the grocery store, which was located not far from the theater, and waited for the long-awaited time to come. The fact that the long-awaited 11 o'clock had arrived was informed to them by the wolf, the “resident” of the house, who replaced the number eleven. Since the wolf was holding a knife, jokes immediately arose about the wolf being ready to cut up the snack! For a long time afterwards, people called 11 a.m., the time when alcohol was sold, “the hour of the wolf.”

The clock, made more than 40 years ago, still delights theater visitors and passers-by.

By the way, at night the clock operates in a special quiet mode so as not to wake up people living nearby.

Guide to Architectural Styles

The theater itself appeared in 1931, and at first consisted of only Sergei Obraztsov. The actor performed puppet shows, hiding behind a screen. Gradually the theater grew, and it was given a building on Mayakovka.

Previously, a classical theater was located there, and the puppeteers had to adapt. Sergei Obraztsov has been petitioning for his own home for a long time. Finally, in the 1960s, he received a half-abandoned building on the Garden Ring and turned it into a puppet theater.

Shortly before this, Obraztsov visited Prague. There he saw the famous medieval clock with several dials, near which a crowd of spectators gathers every hour. Therefore, the façade of the Obraztsov Theater was decorated with doll clocks by D.M. Shakhovsky. Every hour, one of the twelve doors opens, and a fairy-tale character appears from there. He greets passers-by to “Whether in the garden or in the vegetable garden...” arranged by N. Bogoslovsky. All dolls come out at noon and midnight.

To see this clock, many spectators always gather near the building of the Obraztsov Theater around noon. Previously, the clock rang at night, but residents complained about the noise, and now the clock follows the sound mode.

In 1937, the Museum of Theater Puppets was opened at the Obraztsov Theater. Its collection is considered one of the best in the world and already numbers more than 5,000 exhibits. The museum features world dolls, puppets, glove puppets, tantamaresques, and even Korean water puppets (they float on floats, and actors control the puppets using long poles).

The calling card of Sergei Obraztsov’s Puppet Theater is still the play “An Extraordinary Concert”. It has been running since 1946.

There are many different famous clocks in Moscow, but the clock on the building of the puppet theater named after. Obraztsova differs significantly from their “colleagues” in their rather extravagant appearance, gathering children and adults around them every day. Of course, at the time of its creation, these musical and theatrical clocks had no analogues in the entire country.

They appeared on the facade of the puppet theater building in 1970, along with the opening of the theater on the Garden Ring. During the construction of the theater, all the existing innovations of that time were taken into account - in the equipment of the theater stage, light and sound, but the facade of the building itself was an unattractive gray concrete wall, which was typical of the style of buildings of that time. However, the director of the theater decided to enliven the appearance of the theater with an unusual, huge clock.

Obraztsov came up with the idea of creating a puppet clock with figurines - fairy-tale characters that were supposed to decorate the gray facade of the new building of the puppet theater. The idea was brought to life by sculptors Dmitry Shakhovsky and Pavel Shimes, and the mechanism was invented by Veniamin Kalmanson. A lot of money was spent on making the watch. The dimensions of the unusual clock are 3 meters wide and 4 meters high. The watch itself is made of copper, stainless steel, brass and textolite. The clock rays, patterns and flagpole are covered with gold leaf. All fairy-tale characters are made of fiberglass. More than 50 people painstakingly worked on the production of doll “walkers”, among them mechanics, metalsmiths, minters and goldsmiths.

Initially, the clock had an electromechanical device that occupied a specially designated room. Specially trained watchmakers monitored the uninterrupted operation of the clocks. Their work included servicing the clock and timely turning on the tape recording of voices corresponding to fairy-tale characters. The clock mechanism was so good that it was not inferior to the accuracy of the Kremlin chimes.

At first, the rooster crowed every hour, including at night. But after numerous complaints from local residents who found it difficult to sleep, the clock was improved and it now has a day and night (quiet) mode.

Another interesting fact is connected with this clock: in the Soviet pre-perestroika years, the sale of alcohol began at 11.00 in the morning. The men waiting to recover from their hangover at the grocery store opposite, like children, rejoiced at the crow of the rooster at 11.00 and the appearance of a gray wolf with a knife from the house, as if cutting up a snack. This is how the people called the cherished eleven o’clock the “hour of the wolf.”

You can see the famous clock and the theater itself at the address: Sadovaya-Samotechnaya st. 3, Moscow.

There are many different famous clocks in Moscow, but the clock on the building of the puppet theater named after. Obraztsova differs significantly from their “colleagues” in their rather extravagant appearance. Like others, puppet theater clocks have, albeit not a very long, but still entertaining history.

A clock appeared on the building of the puppet theater in 1970, along with the opening of the theater itself on the Garden Ring. This was a new building that was designed and built specifically for the theater. It took into account the latest requirements of the time for stage equipment, lighting and sound equipment. But for some reason, the architects forgot one important detail: the theater begins with a hanger, or rather, with the facade of the building. The building itself was an uninteresting gray concrete structure, typical of the urban Soviet style of the late 60s and early 70s. In order to somehow rectify the situation, Sergei Obraztsov, at that time the head of the Puppet Theater, decided to decorate the facade with an unusual clock.

Over the years of its existence, the Puppet Theater toured the world a lot, and Sergei Obraztsov always showed great interest in the various tower clocks that he saw in other cities. It was he who proposed the concept, which two sculptors, Pavel Shimes and Dmitry Shakhovsky, undertook to implement, and the clock mechanism itself was created by Veniamin Kalmanson.

The clock has dimensions of 4 meters in height and 3 meters in length, and is a unique ensemble of twelve houses, indicating each hour, containing various fairy-tale doll characters. Every hour, one or another figure appears from the corresponding house, a rooster crows and the melody of the song “Whether in the garden or in the vegetable garden”, familiar to everyone from childhood, plays. At the same time, all the characters of the twelve houses appear twice a day - at noon and at midnight. At first, the rooster crowed every hour, including at night. But after numerous complaints from local residents who found it difficult to sleep, the clock was improved and it now has a day and night (quiet) mode.

One of the legends known to all lovers of strong alcoholic drinks is associated with the figurines and the Puppet Theater clock itself. During Soviet times, alcohol was sold in stores only from 11 o'clock in the afternoon. This hour was eagerly awaited by many who had been overcome by an unpleasant hangover in the morning. Visitors to the grocery store located nearby the Puppet Theater were also waiting for him. And then the wolf, who “settled” in the house replacing the number “11”, informed them about the arrival of the long-awaited 11 o’clock. The wolf had a knife in his hands. Great jokers said that the wolf had waited in the wings and was getting ready to cut the snack. Since then, for many years, 11 o’clock in the morning, when the sale of alcohol began in the USSR, began to be called “the hour of the wolf” throughout the country, precisely thanks to the clock of the Puppet Theater.

And today, like many years ago, “Village of Animals” attracts a large number of spectators who want to watch the next appearance of the dolls. Even in the age of high technology, small children look with great admiration at this seemingly simple mechanism from the past.